KATHMANDU: The Kathmandu District Court is set to begin a bail hearing at 11 am today for Rastriya Swatantra Party Chair and former Home Minister, Rabi Lamichhane. He is charged with using Gorkha Media to embezzle more than Rs 50 million from depositors' deposits at the Swarnalaxmi Cooperative in Kalimati, Kathmandu.
After Lamichhane finished testifying before Judge Madhav Prasad Adhikari on Sunday, he was taken into judicial custody. But because of time restrictions, the detention hearing that was supposed to take place that day was postponed and is now happening today.
The court's information officer, Amar Bahadur Chand, confirmed the rescheduling of the hearing and said Lamichhane would be in police custody until the court made a decision.
Lamichhane’s legal troubles include another cooperative fraud case in Pokhara, involving the Suryadarshan Cooperative. He was arrested on October 18 for allegedly embezzling funds there. After being detained for 84 days, he was freed last Thursday on bail of Rs 6.5 million.
Lamichhane finally showed up on Sunday, claiming that logistical difficulties were the cause of the delay, even though he was told to report to the Kathmandu District Court on Friday. As a result, police custody was maintained while the hearing's preparations were completed.
The current case involves claims of Rs 119.3 million being embezzled from the money of 690 Swarnalaxmi Cooperative depositors. Lamichhane was allegedly heavily involved in the financial crimes, according to investigators.
Lamichhane and 38 other people involved in the crime have been referred for charges by the Kathmandu District Police. The gravity of the alleged transgressions and their effect on the impacted depositors are highlighted by these recommendations.
The court will decide during the hearing whether to grant Lamichhane bail or keep him in detention while the case is still pending. Given the high-profile nature of the claims, there is considerable legal and public interest in the outcome.
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